UAPRN Cobb/Cherokee monthly chapter dinners

Dear members, non-members, and followers,

We are so fortunate to have sponsors willing to provide us with monthly dinners at nice (and at times really nice) restaurants.  This provides for us a monthly opportunity to come together as a group to network, socialize, unwind, get to know each other a little better, and learn the latest on medications currently on the market.  There is a lot of work that goes into setting up these meetings and the sponsors spend a lot of money on these events.  These sponsors come to us with their product because they recognize and value the impact we have on our patients as well as the entire healthcare community.

Over the last year, we have seen an increasing trend of people coming to our meetings who have not registered for the event but just show up, and / or they are registered, but they are not an APRN or a APRN student. This is creating a problem for us.

To receive dinner, most sponsors require each participant to have an NPI number but will allow a few to join the dinner without one. I have had sponsors come back to me days later after the meeting asking for a participant's NPI number only to find out the person in question was not registered for the dinner to start with, wasn't a paid member, and / or wasn't even an APRN but belonged to another healthcare discipline. We want to stay in a good relationship with our sponsors so they will continue to offer us dinner opportunities so as a result, we are going to need to make a few changes.

Beginning with the November meeting, only those who have registered will be allowed to participate. We will continue to pass around the sign in sheet so please make sure you sign in when you arrive. If your name is not on the sign in sheet, you will unfortunately not be able to attend that dinner.  We also can not accomodate anyone who is not an APRN or a APRN student (please refer to the by-laws, section V, article D). Paid members are given first priority to RSVP so we encourage all non-paid members to consider paying the yearly dues.  It is only $100 and will go a long way in helping our chapter to continue to grow and become a real change agent in our community.

And lastly, if you sign up for a monthly meeting and later realize you can not attend, please go into the website and cancel your registration. Even if this is at the last minute, your cancellation will open up a spot for someone on the wait list to register.

I want to end by saying thank you to all of our members. We are growing as a chapter and your continued participation and loyalty to our chapter is felt and recognized. We do not want to make our meetings rigid but rather provide you all with a monthly professional forum to meet with your colleagues and feel connected to the community you serve.

Sincerely,

The Cobb / Cherokee UAPRN Board